All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well

Entries tagged with tv

The last few days have been eventful and productive, media-wise. I went to see the Welcome to Night Vale live show "Ghost Stories" on Friday night in LA, and it was great. The weather guest was Erin McKeown, who provided the weather for the most recent episode of the podcast. She played that song ("The Queer Gospel") as well as several others. I decided that I really like her music. She has a good voice, but what I really appreciate is the lyrics of her songs. Just that night, she played songs about LGBTQ self-love and acceptance, immigration, and the beauty and wonder of living the creative life.

On Saturday, I watched the first few episodes of Stranger Things on Netflix. I'm on episode six, and it's really great so far. I wasn't even alive in the majority of the 80s, but it really hits the nostalgia spot. I also watched the Fellowship of the Rings movie for the first time ever and fell in love with it. It was very well done, and it made me fall in love with the story all over again. It's kind of a shame that I didn't see these movies when they originally came out, but I'm trying desperately not to be pop culture illiterate anymore.

Speaking of which, I also watched Moulin Rouge for the first time ever this weekend. I enjoyed it, but I wasn't so convinced by the insta-love. I didn't really connect to the characters as much as I thought I should. On the other hand, I just loved the fact that Kylie Minogue and Placido Domingo were the fairy and the man in the moon respectively. Watching it reminded me a lot of Phantom of the Opera, and I suppose that both musicals have a lot of crossover appeal. I guess that it's partially that same operatic form of storytelling as Moulin Rouge has elements of La Boheme, La Traviata, and Orpheus in the Underworld. Aside from the fact that they both take place in France, they both involve creative types putting on a show and a musical within a musical. One of the characters unexpectedly takes the place of another on stage a la "The Point of No Return." Plus, both musicals begin in the future when all the action is over and done with and tell the story in flashback. Come to think of it, I bet they have a lot in common if I were to sit down and think about it some more.

So, in short, I became less pop culture illiterate this weekend. It's nice not living under a rock for a change.

I also watched Toonami on Satruday evening. I love how it has become a fixture of my week again. Not since the days of Yu Yu Hakusho have I been so eager to catch every episode. I think it'f fitting that Hunter x Hunter is the main reason why since they were both created by Yoshihiro Togashi. I've meant to check out Hunter x Hunter for years, but it's on Toonami now and all of those teenage feelings are coming flooding back. The team dynamics remind me a lot of those from the main cast of YYH. Kurapika is my obvious favorite, and I'm getting all kinds of Kurama flashbacks from him. My second favorite is probably Leorio, but they all have their own charm. Somone once said that if you liked the puzzle-like parts of the Maze Castle arc in YYH, you would also want to check out Hunter x Hunter. I will say that the Hunter Exams are definitely giving me a distinct Maze Castle type vibe.

That pretty much covers everything except my reading and writing habits, but that can wait for another time. I also got a new mattress on Saturday, so that's something too.

I made it through another week of this semester, so it's time that I focus on the rest of my life for a while. Perhaps I can let myself do a bit of cathartic writing before I get to anything else. Even though this week was short on account of MLK day, it felt long and hectic. Sunday was my birthday, but I just rolled with it this time. I decided that there will be plenty of time in the rest of the year to turn to reflection about the state of my life. I allowed myself to feel happy about the event, but I did not celebrate much on that day. Instead, I took care of some homework and watched Galavant. Richard continues to be my favorite character in that series. I did get some sweet birthday wishes, though. It's good to be reminded that I am loved.

Of course, Monday was a holiday, so I took the time to actually celebrate my birthday a bit. We tried a new Mexican restaurant that I didn't end up liking very much. The rest of my time was spent trying to figure out synthetic a priori and reading. It's unfortunate that my creative writing class had to be on Monday because that is not the class I wanted to miss.

Tuesday I went to see If/Then with Idina Menzel. As a result, I found out what happens when you're late to a musical. We had to wait outside for ten minutes before they would let us in, but there was a screen outside to allow us to know what was going on. However, the sound on the screen was a bit delayed, and we could hear the actual sound coming from the theater at the same time. This created an echo that made it hard to understand what was going on. Eventually, someone turned down the sound on the screen to fix the problem, and we were let in before too long. It was a good show although I did find it a bit confusing like some of the reviewers had said. It was my chance to hear Idina sing live again, so it was worth it. I didn't realize that Anthony Rapp was in it too, and I was reminded how much I like his voice. Some songs were more memorable than others and the lyrics seemed clever at times, but I would like to listen to the cast recording to make a final judgment. Overall, the story was relatable because I am still young, and I have a lot of life-changing decisions ahead of me as well. I could relate to Elizabeth's struggle to find out what was the right decision.

Speaking of decisions, I am thinking of studying abroad in Spain or some other Spanish-speaking country. Spanish is not my major, but it would be a gift to become fluent in it after I've been forced to take three semesters of it and have at least one more semester to look forward to. I'm not even sure that I'd qualify for the scholarship, but I'm going to go to a presentation about it next Friday. It seems like something that is seriously worth considering even though I have a bunch of other things that I need to do in my life. Maybe something good could come of it. It could be just the thing to give me a fresh start.

I don't really have much to say about the last two days. It was just... stressful on account of personal things, but I can put that behind me now. I also had a dream about the Tenth Doctor and Martha, so I think that's incentive to start watching the older episodes of Doctor Who again.

All I have done so far is watch a few episodes of my shows and read some things here and there. It's still the beginning of my break, so I still have time to take care of other things. Honestly, I don't feel very motivated to do much else, though. I really should go out today because I have been at home pretty much since my semester ended, but the weather is hardly enticing.

This morning, I've been trying to write a bit. I rarely ever write reviews of the shows that I'm watching, but I thought I'd give it a shot this time even though these episodes are probably only new to me. I'm so behind~ So here are two reviews of three old episodes from Doctor Who season three with cuts for some spoilers.

I meant to write more, but I'm just not feeling it right now. I have already watched "Blink" with audio description and hope to finish up season three before the year is done. I also watched the first three episodes of season two of Penny Dreadful, so I'll get to talking about those soon, I hope. Perhaps I'll go out and actually do something with other humans today. In the future, I should probably write the reviews right after each episode or stop to write things during the episodes.

Well, I've been bad about posting again... Blame it on stress and depression. It's not that I haven't been productive at all in the last month, but I've withdrawn into a sad little ball of gloom quite a lot. This means I haven't made much progress with my life. I've barely talked with anyone, and I worry that I've let my friends down by withdrawing. Even though my life has improved by leaps and bounds over the last few years, it still needs a lot of work to get it where I want it to be.

On a happier note, I have been re-watching the eighth season of Doctor Who with audio description this time. :D I was able to enjoy the season well enough without it, but the descriptions make it much easier to get all the little jokes and bits of action. I've re-watched only the first two episodes, but I have the rest waiting for me. I'm enjoying it a lot more than I did the first time around. I'm so glad that I have discoveed the joys of audio description because it makes my TV watching life much easier.

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Okay, so... I wandered away from this entry for a couple of days. XD Things are indeed looking up. I've now watched up to episode five of season eight of Doctor Who. Currently, I'm in the middle of episode six. I'd like to get back to that soon, but I've been all over the place in the last few days. Turns out my concerns about letting my friend down were not true. She's just as lost as I am or maybe more. The fear of intimacy still stands, though.

In addition to the re-watch of season eight of new Who, I just started watching the classic series as well. 8D That's a whole new world of fun to look forward to. I stayed up late last night researching the classic series and looking for clips. This morning, I watched all four episodes of "The Aztecs" story and enjoyed myself very much. Of course, it did not have any audio description on Netflix, but I can look into that more later. I enjoyed it, nonetheless. It's fun to be diving in to something so iconic and classic.

I've been tweeting all evening, so I think my journal should get some love too.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell has consumed my waking mind. I'm nearly done with the book, and it is a massive book. I don't think I have fallen in love with a magical world this much since Harry Potter. The world building is that good. I also love the historical setting. A historical novel mixed with magic? Yes, please! Maybe the book is a bit long, but it's charming and intricate enough to make up for that. Naturally, I have been watching the mini-series and enjoying it as well. In fact, it's the entire reason that I dared to read the novel in the first place. It seems to be a pretty good adaptation thus far. Anyway, it's good to have something to look forward to on Saturday nights again.

It's getting late, but I may stay up to watch Michiko and Hachin. It's premiering on Toonami tonight.

Once again, I find myself sitting here and trying to write an entry at sundown. My winter vacation is over next week. Christmas and New Year's Day have passed with some destruction in their wake. I keep thinking that it will be the end of the world when the new semester begins, but it probably won't be that big of a deal. There are some annoying little matters to attend to, but they shouldn't be much. Nothing to interfere with my obsessive Internet surfing and general geekdom. I only have three classes for four days a week. It shouldn't be too intrusive. Hopefully, I should be able to keep everything under control.

Right now, I'm journeying back to 2009 and listening to The Fame by Lady Gaga. I don't think I've ever listened to this album all the way through. Oh well, I have Spotify Premium now. I might as well get my money's worth.

I've barely started on season three of Doctor Who. I like Martha so far, but I don't think she will beat Rose in my eyes. The first episode "Smith and Jones") was meh to me. Kind of run-of-the-mill. However, if I recall correctly, the second season began with an episode that was set in a hospital. It's interesting to see a hint of a pattern there. I wonder if any other patterns will continue? Anyway, I loved the second episode because it was Shakespeare. I haven't read any reviews of this episode, so I don't know if it's well-liked or not. The suggestion that Martha was Shakespeare's "Dark Lady" was cute, and I loved all the references to how women live in the future as compared to Elizabethan times. I also wonder if there is any evidence that Shakespeare did spend any time in Bedlam? Probably not, but it's interesting to think of it and his lost son. Loved the constant quoting of Shakespeare and the Doctor saying that he could use those lines. ;) The shout-outs to J. K. Rowling were great, too. I don't know how historically accurate this episode was, but I enjoyed it and its gleeful Britishness all the same.

It's dark now. Sunset was at 4:58. The music's stopped. I say it's timme to leave you now.

The eighth season/series (I will never get used to these British terms) of Doctor Who is almost over, and I have become a good and proper little Whovian over the past few months in the process. :D As far as I can tell, the current season is fantastic. I know that a lot of people are complaining about Clara's prominence and having difficulty adjusting to the new Doctor, but I love them both. Maybe this is an advantage of being new to Who? *shrugs* Anyway, I'm having a great time, too. It's so great to be getting back into fandom and looking forward to a new show on Saturdays again. I still need to catch up on the earlier seasons, though. I'm almost done with season two.

The main reason for this post is to gush about Doctor Who, but... eh, I'm getting tired. I'll just leave you with this thought: evil!Clara is awesome. I saw it coming, and I can't wait! I also want to watch the biopic about Dylan Thomas this week.